1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in spas or hot tubs, and more particularly, pertains to new and improved nozzles for ejecting water into spas wherein, the nozzles physically moved.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of providing moving water stream ejection into spa containers, it has been the practice to employ water tubes pivoting in a vertical plane to exhaust a massaging water stream on the back of the user sitting in the spa. One of the problems confronting such devices has been the problem of keeping the water tubes confined to movement in the vertical plane. Prior art devices such as, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,340 granted Jun. 18, 1985 for a Means Providing Moving Water Stream Ejecting Into Spa Tank, U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,604 granted Jan. 5, 1988 for a Spa With Moving Jets, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,588 granted May 1, 1990 for a Means Providing Moving Water Stream Ejecting Into Spa Tank, utilized as specially designed guide body to guide the moving nozzles to move only in the vertical plane.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a prior art, single nozzle moving jet structure. This type of structure is described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,523,340, 4,716,604, and 4,920,588. These structures all have a single nozzle 21, connected to a source of air supply by tubing 25, and a source of pressurized water by tubing 23. The pressurized water is supplied to the nozzle 21 in a flexible tube encased in an articulated plastic sleeve structure. This articulated sleeve structure is more specifically described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,604, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The nozzle 21 moves up and down vertically, as the result of a whipping reaction to the exhaust water from the nozzle. The nozzle 21 is confined to the vertical path of travel by the combination of the articulated plastic sleeve over tubing 23, and the guide body 17, which is a series of fins or ribs, as described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,604. The water from the nozzle 21 is ejected through an opening or series of ports 19 on a face plate 13. Face plate 13 mounts to a flange 15 which is attached to the tank wall of the spa, in a manner described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,523,340, 4,716,604 and 4,920,588.
In contrast, the present invention increases the amount of massaging water streams on the back of a user, while at the same time eliminating the requirement for using guide bodies and reducing the amount of air supply tubing line required.